5 Ways Chatbots Are Enhancing Talent Acquisition

AI-driven chatbots offer exciting possibilities to hire best candidates

In today’s battle for contingent talent, the difference between hiring the best candidate and missing out is increasingly measured in minutes and seconds versus hours and days. In this landscape, hiring managers are looking for any edge in efficiency they can find.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbots offer exciting possibilities in this regard. Unlike past B2B chatbots, which were often limited to distracting pop-up software tips, technological breakthroughs are powering chatbots that provide real value during the sourcing and recruiting processes.

These cutting-edge conversational interfaces leverage machine learning and natural language processing to enable managers to communicate with a vendor management system (VMS) as if it was human. 

The added flexibility these tools offer, as well as the increased access to personalized, actionable intelligence, can power increased effectiveness when sourcing and hiring contingent workers. Here are five ways chatbots are enhancing recruiting and talent acquisition.

The best guidance software makes users’ workflows easier and simpler. To that end, leading-edge chatbots are offering up insights right within the user’s natural workflow. 

Let us say you are a manager needing to hire a resource. As you create a job post, the digital assistant works in the background, looking at millions of data points and providing related insights (or staying silent if it doesn’t have relevant info to share). 

As you add details, the chatbot looks at where your organization has sourced similar positions in the past, and if there is a cheaper locale available, it will tell you right within the request creation process.

It is like a helpful concierge, gently offering information that guides you toward faster, better decisions. 

With the average manager using a dizzying array of platforms, B2B software that provides simpler access to tasks can be a huge relief. In the case of chatbots and recruiting contingent workers, this means ensuring tools are available in the systems that users frequently utilize. 

Ideally, this involves behind-the-scenes integrations between the system(s) of choice and the VMS, so that users aren’t required to log in to engage its conversational interface, instead simply sending an email or text to the chatbot.

What if you are initiating a talent acquisition request but are unsure which system would be most helpful? New technology empowers users to simply send a message to the virtual assistant, and it will automatically connect them to the right platform and/or pull in the necessary data.

Important sourcing and recruiting tasks do not always wait until you are back at a desk. Leading-edge platforms are making it simpler to perform these items on the go by enabling users to text chatbots and get responses in real time.

For example, imagine you’re settling in for a lengthy department meeting when your team leader tells you he just got budget approval for the extra headcount you requested. Instead of wasting precious hours waiting for the meeting to end, you send a text to your VMS. 

In your message, you ask it to create a request for a new software engineer. Within seconds, you receive a reply from the VMS with a question about pay rate range and location. Once you confirm, you get a final response letting you know the request has been initiated and you should start receiving candidates shortly.

When you are in line for coffee, waiting for a flight or otherwise on the go, time is often measured in short chunks. It’s tempting to make the most of this time by tackling a work task, but trying to get something done on your mobile device within these few minutes (or less) can be frustrating and stressful. 

For example, let us say you initiate a conversation with a chatbot related to sourcing a worker. But before you can finish, you abruptly need to stop and switch gears, as so often happens when you are out and about?

Leading-edge systems are providing the flexibility busy managers need to restart these interactions when it’s convenient. Some chatbots will even send a reminder after a period of inactivity. As a result, it is easier than ever to take advantage of a few minutes here and there knowing you can pick up where you left off without skipping a beat. 

Receiving business intelligence when and where it’s most illuminating is exciting, but it is the power to act immediately on these insights that’s truly transformative. With this in mind, AI-powered chatbots are not only surfacing analytics, but offering related one-touch and one-click calls to action.

For example, imagine you’re selecting suppliers as part of a job request. Instead of accepting the chatbot’s recommendations, you choose a vendor you’ve enjoyed working with at a previous company. 

Forty-eight hours later, you get a notification that you have not received any qualified submissions. In response, you simply tap a button on your smartphone, and the digital assistant sends the request to your organization’s top two suppliers to ensure you land the necessary talent.   

In another instance, it might notice you’ve interviewed 10 candidates for a position without hiring anyone, prompting it to ask what attributes have been missing and whether the job description should be revised accordingly.

Beyond recruiting, managers can also converse with chatbots to find out worker onboarding status, extend workers, start the offboarding process and more.

AI’s increased integration into existing technologies is poised to unlock a wealth of opportunities for leading enterprise companies. In the case of chatbots, technical advances are enabling users to turn their insights into “augmented intelligence” – combining AI with human expertise to provide real value and drive optimal results. 

As you are looking at incorporating chatbots into your sourcing, hiring and recruiting processes, focus on three to five areas where they would provide the most value. If you begin with a narrower range of functionality but provide an outstanding experience, you will help ensure adoption and lay the foundation for future expansion and program success.

Nataliya Kolb is Vice President of Product Design at PRO Unlimited. Visit www.prounlimited.com Connect Nataliya Kolb